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| Boots fined after baby girl hurt | Boots fined after baby girl hurt |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Boots has been fined £6,500 after a 17-month-old baby had her skull fractured by a heavy rolling pin which fell from a third-floor window. | |
| Alyssa Burns still suffers from headaches more than seven months after being hit as she sat in her pram outside the store in Dundee. | Alyssa Burns still suffers from headaches more than seven months after being hit as she sat in her pram outside the store in Dundee. |
| Her parents, from Lochgelly, said their normally "happy, social" child had become insular and frightened. | Her parents, from Lochgelly, said their normally "happy, social" child had become insular and frightened. |
| Boots pled guilty to breaching Health and Safety regulations. | Boots pled guilty to breaching Health and Safety regulations. |
| Dundee Sheriff Court heard that the family had already launched civil legal action against Boots, which has accepted liability. | |
| A staff member at the store in Reform Street had been washing kitchen equipment when she dropped the rolling pin. | A staff member at the store in Reform Street had been washing kitchen equipment when she dropped the rolling pin. |
| Alyssa had to be treated in the high dependency unit at Ninewells Hospital for her injuries. The first few months were the hardest and we've still got concerns about her John-Paul Burns | |
| Acting for Boots UK Ltd, solicitor Harry Boyle expressed the company's regret. | Acting for Boots UK Ltd, solicitor Harry Boyle expressed the company's regret. |
| He said: "It must have been a very traumatic experience for the whole family, which would've gone on for some weeks and in some ways is still ongoing. | |
| "My clients take the matter very seriously. It was accepted at the outset that blame was not attached to the employee in this case. | "My clients take the matter very seriously. It was accepted at the outset that blame was not attached to the employee in this case. |
| "It was not her fault, it was an organisational failure." | "It was not her fault, it was an organisational failure." |
| Sheriff Elizabeth Munro said: "For a company the size of Boots, their safety record is relatively good. | Sheriff Elizabeth Munro said: "For a company the size of Boots, their safety record is relatively good. |
| "However, a very young child suffered very serious trauma as a result of this incident and the family no doubt suffered worry and concern and that worry is not over yet. | "However, a very young child suffered very serious trauma as a result of this incident and the family no doubt suffered worry and concern and that worry is not over yet. |
| The rolling pin fell from a third-floor window at Boots | |
| "It is appropriate to record the fact that no criminal penalty should be putting a value on the trauma caused to Alyssa Burns' family that is a job for the civil courts." | "It is appropriate to record the fact that no criminal penalty should be putting a value on the trauma caused to Alyssa Burns' family that is a job for the civil courts." |
| Speaking after the case, Alyssa's father John-Paul said he remained angry at Boots. | |
| He felt the fine should have been higher considering what his daughter, who is now two years and three months old, and the family have gone through. | |
| "She [Alyssa] has got a bit of a problem with her balance since the accident and she's a bit short-tempered now," he said. | |
| "Any loud noise, or a bus or a car or a van going past the house, makes her jump a wee bit and she wants to come close to her mum and dad. Even the Hoover at first. | |
| "She has got a lot better and you can see her getting better, but the first few months were the hardest and we've still got concerns about her. | |
| "Things like her balance and behaviour, you don't know if that's long-term." |